Men's Ice Hockey
- Title:
- Deputy Athletics Director, External Operations / Men's Ice Hockey Sport Administrator
- Email:
- dowdc@sacredheart.edu
- Phone:
- (203) 396-8181
A veteran athletic administrator, Charlie Dowd joined Sacred Heart in February 2019 as the Deputy Director of Athletics for External Affairs. In his roll, Dowd serves as the sport administrator for men’s and women’s hockey, equestrian and women’s rugby, while also overseeing operations at the Martire Family Arena.
Outside of his roles at SHU, Dowd was recently named to the Division I Women’s Ice Hockey Committee for a four-year term through August 2030. He will represent the East Region as one of six committee members.
Dowd is no stranger to committee service as he is the immediate past president of the Atlantic Hockey America men’s hockey conference, is currently the chair of the New England Women’s Hockey Alliance’s executive committee and is on the College Hockey Inc Board of Directors. Additionally, Dowd has served on the executive board for both the National Intercollegiate Rugby Association and the Intercollegiate Horse Shows Association.
No stranger to the greater Bridgeport area, Dowd came to the Sacred Heart after serving as the Senior Vice President of Operations for Harbor Yard Sports & Entertainment where he was for seven years. Under his direction, the Webster Bank Arena hosted national hockey league games, served as the home venue for the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, hosted numerous concerts and successfully hosted numerous women’s basketball and men’s ice hockey regional tournaments while also serving as the home of SHU men’s hockey.
Prior to joining Harbard Yard Sports and Entertainment, Dowd was the general manager and minority partner for the Bridgeport Bluefish from 1997-2006. Under his leadership, the independent league team set national attendance records, won eight division titles and captured a league championship.
A graduate of the City University of New York, Dowd broke into the sports field as a sales representative for the New York Mets in 1988-89. He became the assistant general manager of the Midland Angels, a Class AA minor league affiliate of the Angels, improving advertising and tickets sales by 25 percent during his 1990-91 tenure. Dowd served as the general manager of the Salinas Spurs for the 1991-92 season and was named GM for the New Haven Ravens in 1992.
With the Ravens, Dowd organized and managed the start-up of the Class AA franchise, including overseeing a $3.2 million renovation of Yale Field, which helped the organization to a winning bid for the 1998 AA All-Star Game.
Dowd, who earned his Juris Doctor from Western New England, has made a great impact on the SHU athletic marketing and operations staff’s while serving as an adjunct professor at several local universities, including the SHU Sports Management program.
